BEEF IS GOOD FOR YOU
SUBJECTS: Math, Science
STUDENT SKILL:
The student will examine tables and charts and use the observations to pose and answer questions.
OBJECTIVE:
Students will chart nutritional information about beef.
MATERIALS:
Assorted food packaging with “Nutrition Facts”
VOCABULARY: nutrients health dietitian
Vitamin B
12
Vitamin B
2 amino acid protein riboflavin niacin iron zinc tissue hormones enzyme

BACKGROUND:
Beef is an important part of a healthy diet. About 50 separate nutrients are essential to good health. No single food contains all of these nutrients. For this reason, dietitians and health providers recommend consuming a wide variety of foods daily from several different food categories.
One of the nutrients you need, Vitamin B
12
, can be found only in animal foods, such as beef. Beef also provides significant amounts of other important nutrients— protein, riboflavin, niacin, iron and zinc.
Proteins are made up of amino acids. We need 22 amino acids, but only eight must come from food. The body can produce the others. The amino acids the body cannot make are called “essential amino acids.” Proteins which contain all of the eight essential amino acids in proportions most useful to the body are called
“complete” or “high quality” proteins. Plant proteins, when eaten alone, do not contain all of the essential amino acids in sufficient quantity and therefore are incomplete. To make them complete, they must be combined with other foods containing the amino acids that are missing. For instance, beans and rice, eaten separately, do not contain all the essential amino acids, but eaten in combination, they do.
Complete proteins, such as those in beef, help to build, maintain and repair body tissues, form body hormones and enzymes and increase resistance to infection and disease. One 3- ounce cooked serving of 80 percent lean ground beef will supply 21 grams of protein, about 45 percent of the daily amount recommended for children ages 9-13.
Beef also contains significant amounts of several B-vitamins. Riboflavin (vitamin
B
2
) helps the body use energy and promotes healthy skin and good vision in bright light. Niacin (another Bvitamin) promotes healthy skin and nerves, aids digestion and fosters normal appetite.
Vitamin B
12 is needed for normal functioning of body cells and of the nervous system. The only natural source of Vitamin B
12 is animal foods.
One of the most important nutrients in beef is iron. Iron helps red blood cells carry oxygen to and away from the body cells. Beef is one of the best sources of

iron, the nutrient most often lacking in the diets of adult women, young children and athletes.
Zinc is a mineral the body needs to form enzymes and insulin. Like iron, zinc is especially difficult to obtain when meat is not included in the diet.
PRE-LAB:
Have students write down what they had for dinner last night and what nutrients they got from each type of food. Discuss their answers. Did they have beef?
What nutrients do we get from beef? Why is it important to get a variety of nutrients in each meal?
ACTIVITY:
1. Have students bring assorted food packaging to school, and point them to the
“Nutrition Facts” found on most packaging. Help students understand what the charts mean. Share the background material, and discuss the importance of a varied diet.
2. Hand out student worksheets, and have students use the information to fill in the blanks and chart the nutrients found in beef.
ADDITIONAL ACTIVITIES:
1. Enlist the help of parents or older students and cook hamburgers in class in electric skillets. Have students weigh their cooked patties to see how close they are to the recommended serving size of 3 ounces.
EXTRA READING:
D’Amico, Joan, Karen Eich Drummond and Tina Cash-Walsh, The
Healthy Body Cookbook: Over 50 Fun Activities and
Delicious Recipes for Kids, John Wiley & Sons, 1999.
EVALUATION:
A teacher worksheet is provided.

Worksheet 1
Name: ___________________________________________________
Beef is Good for You
US DRI (Dietary Reference Intake)—The daily amount of each nutrient recommended for most people.
A serving of lean cooked beef is about the size of a deck of playing cards, weighs 3 ounces and has 228 calories. A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides 46 percent of the US DRI of protein, 12 percent of the US DRI of riboflavin, 26 percent of the US DRI of niacin, 33 percent of the US DRI of vitamin B12, 10 percent of the US DRI of iron, and 31 percent of the US DRI of zinc.
US DRI for the Key Nutrients in Beef
Protein _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 45 grams
Riboflavin (B
2
) _ _ _ _ 1.5 milligrams
Niacin _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ 17 milligrams
Vitamin B
12
_ _ _ _ _ _6 micrograms
Iron _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _15 milligrams
Zinc _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _15 milligrams
Use a calculator and the information above to fill in the blanks below.
Example:
A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides 46 percent of the US DRI of
protein. The US DRI of protein is 45 grams. A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides 20.7 grams of protein.
A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides _____ percent of the US DRI of riboflavin (B
2
). The US DRI of riboflavin is _____ milligrams. A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides _____ milligrams of riboflavin.

Worksheet 1 cont.
A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides _____ percent of the US DRI of niacin. The US DRI of niacin is _____ milligrams. A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides _____ milligrams of niacin.
A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides _____ percent of the US DRI of Vitamin B
12
.The US DRI of Vitamin B
12 is _____ micrograms. A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides _____ micrograms of Vitamin B
12
.
A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides _____ percent of the US DRI of iron. The US DRI of iron is _____ milligrams. A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides _____ milligrams of iron.
A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides _____ percent of the US DRI of zinc. The US DRI of zinc is _____ milligrams. A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides _____ milligrams of zinc.

Beef is Good for You
Use a calculator and the information above to fill in the blanks below.
A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides 12 percent of the US DRI of riboflavin (B
2
). The US DRI of riboflavin is 1.5 milligrams. A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides .18 milligrams of riboflavin.
A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides 26 percent of the US DRI of
niacin. The US DRI of niacin is 17 milligrams. A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides 4.4 milligrams of niacin.
A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides 33 percent of the US DRI of
Vitamin B
12
.The US DRI of Vitamin B
12 is 6 micrograms. A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides 1.98 micrograms of Vitamin B
12
.
A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides 10 percent of the US DRI of
iron. The US DRI of iron is 15 milligrams. A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides 1.5 milligrams of iron.
A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides 31 percent of the US DRI of
zinc. The US DRI of zinc is 15 milligrams. A 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty provides 4.65 milligrams of zinc.

Worksheet 2
Name: ___________________________________________________
Beef is Good for You
Use the information on Worksheet 1 to chart the key nutrients found in a 3-ounce cooked lean ground beef patty.
100 percent of US
DRI _________________________________________________________
90 _________________________________________________________
80 _________________________________________________________
70 _________________________________________________________
60 _________________________________________________________
50 _________________________________________________________
40 _________________________________________________________
30 _________________________________________________________
20 _________________________________________________________
10 _________________________________________________________
PROTEIN RIBOFLAVIN
(VITAMIN B2)
NIACIN VITAMIN IRON
B12
ZINC

Beef is Good for You
VOCABULARY:
nutrients—Substances necessary for life and growth.
health—The overall condition of an organism at a given time.
dietitian—A person who studies nutrition as it relates to health.
Vitamin B6—A vitamin essential to the utilization of protein, the formation of red blood cells and proper nerve function. It is found in meat, poultry, fish, whole-grain cereals, sweet and white potatoes, green vegetables, bananas and prunes.
Vitamin B12—A vitamin necessary for the normal development of red blood cells and the functioning of all cells, particularly in the bone marrow, nervous system and intestines. Sources include organ meats, lean meats, fish, milk, eggs and shellfish.
amino acid—An essential component of the protein molecule.
protein—Any of a group of complex organic macromolecules that contain carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, and usually sulfur and are composed of one or more chains of amino acids. Proteins are fundamental components of all living cells and include many substances, such as enzymes, hormones, and antibodies, that are necessary for the proper functioning of an organism. They are essential in the diet of animals for the growth and repair of tissue and can be obtained from foods such as meat, fish, eggs, milk, and legumes.
riboflavin—A crystalline orange-yellow pigment, the principal growth-promoting factor in the vitamin B complex, found in milk, leafy vegetables, fresh meat and egg yolks.
niacin—A vitamin B complex occurring in living cells as an essential substance for growth.
iron— A metallic element essential to healthy blood and available to humans through consumption of such foods as red meat, spinach, beets, whole wheat and raisins.

zinc—A mineral found in beef, liver, eggs, poultry and whole wheat bread, which maintains taste and smell acuity, normal growth and sexual development and is important for fetal growth and wound healing.
tissue—An aggregation of morphologically similar cells and associated intercellular matter acting together to perform one or more specific functions in the body.
hormone—Any of various similar substances found in plants and insects that regulate development.
enzyme—Any of numerous proteins or conjugated proteins produced by living organisms and functioning as biochemical catalysts.
* Original can be found at Oklahoma Ag in the Classroom, www.clover.okstate.edu